Former Liberian president Charles Taylor has called charges of war crimes against him 'lies'.
He took the stand for the first time today at his trial at the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone, sitting in The Hague.
'This whole case is a case of deceit, deception, lies,' he told the court, rejecting all accusations stemming from the brutal 1991-2001 civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
'I am not guilty of all of these charges, not even a minute part of the charges.'
Mr Taylor is the first African leader to be tried before an international tribunal.
He told the judges he had sought to broker peace in Sierra Leone and not fuel war.
He is accused of arming, training and controlling Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels in exchange for so-called 'blood diamonds'.
He faces 11 charges for murder, rape, conscripting child soldiers, enslavement and pillaging.
The trial began in January 2008.
Mr Taylor became president of Liberia in 1997 after rebels unseated Samuel Doe in 1989, but was himself overthrown by a rebellion and agreed to go into exile in 2003.
He was handed over to the Special Tribunal in 2006 following his arrest in Nigeria.
The former warlord's trial is being held in the Netherlands because of fears that his presence in Sierra Leone could destabilise the west African region.
Mr Taylor's testimony is expected to last several weeks, with a final verdict due in about a year's time.
